BALLYMURPHY MASSACRE – PRESS RELEASE

Posted By: September 23, 2015

September 22, 2015
Ballymurphy families meet Good Friday Agreement Implementation Committee
"Delays to inquests are unacceptable and are impeding our families right to truth
and justice" - John Teggart
A delegation representing families of the Ballymurphy Massacre in 1971 will today
meet with the Good Friday Agreement Committee in Dublin to discuss outstanding
legacy issues affecting their quest for truth and justice for their loved ones. The
families will tell the committee that delays and obstruction to the inquest process
are unacceptable and impeding their right to truth and justice.
John Teggart, whose father Daniel Teggart was among those murdered by paratroopers
and will lead the delegation to Dublin, said, “In 2011 the Attorney General, John
Larkin QC, directed fresh inquests into the deaths of our loved ones after
consideration of overwhelming new evidence submitted by our legal representative,
including witness statements and new forensic evidence. Four years later we have yet
to have these inquests heard. This delay has been caused by the wilful failure of
the MoD and the PSNI to comply with their obligations to assist the inquest.”
Mr Teggart added, “The MoD have informed the Coroner that they cannot trace many of
the soldiers involved in Ballymurphy. The PSNI also informed the Coroner as recent
as the 31st July 2015 that the one member of staff assigned to our case had been
reassigned to another case. Only after the threat of legal action was someone
reallocated to our case. The delay has also been compounded by the under resourcing
of the coronial system in the north of Ireland by the British Government and the
Department of Justice.”
The families also had a message to the Northern parties, currently engaged in talks,
“The Stormont House Agreement committed the Northern Executive to bring forward
proposals to improve the inquest system. We call on this commitment to be fulfilled
as a matter of urgency.”
Ends
Media information: John Teggart, 07860382930 ...07512166867

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